


when dark thoughts roam

by Winter_Lantern



Series: pthumerian dweller au collection [4]
Category: Bloodborne (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Intimacy, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Pthumerian Dweller AU, Size Difference, Touching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-09 16:50:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20998136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winter_Lantern/pseuds/Winter_Lantern
Summary: in the quiet of their little woodland home, it isn't often that a noise manages to wake up the dweller. unfortunately this isn't some annoyingly loud frog or errant fox - it's marion, who is doing his best to hide his tears, and failing.





	when dark thoughts roam

**Author's Note:**

> ahah!! a companion piece to the first fic in this collection! how will our duo find comfort with each other this time ? ? ? (つ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)つ

The dweller knows exactly what it is that has woken him up from his slumber: a noise. Something soft and faint, and very close by. 

So he sits still for a few moments, blinking sleepily as he waits to hear it again and-

He hears it, and there's no mistaking that the sound of strange, stuttered breathing is coming from Marion. He's lying just a few inches from the dweller, and he can see Marion's chest rise and then fall in a staccato that matches his noisy exhale. 

He reaches out toward the human with one large hand, slipping it over his torso and encompassing as much of his chest as possible. "Marion...?" He whispers into the darkness, and Marion goes still. Not even his chest is moving; he's holding his breath, tense and unnaturally stiff.

"Marion?" The dweller asks again. He lifts his hand a bit, moving it so he can pull back some of Marion's long hair away from his face. He just wants to check on him, and Marion's not making any movements or noises to stop him, so the dweller continues. He freezes when his fingers brush against Marion's cheek and feels wetness there.

  
He gasps, pushing himself onto his elbow so he can see and he carefully pulls at Marion's shoulder until he rolls over.

Even in the darkness of their bedroom he can see the tear tracks streaking down Marion's face. His pale eyes stare up at the dweller, red-rimmed with his sadness as his chest once again begins to rise and fall. 

The sight is like a lance through the dweller's heart. His fingers are careful when he wipes away the tears on Marion's face, but more are quick to replace them.

"What's the matter? Are you all right?"

Marion nods, unconvincingly. His voice is quiet, and low, when he speaks, "I was... thinking..."

And the dweller is well acquainted with the dark thoughts that can roam about in the night. A noise escapes past the lump in his throat, a mix of worry and sympathy, and the dweller brushes his fingers over Marion's cheeks once again. "Do ya want to talk about it?"

A dam breaks and a new wave of tears gush down from Marion's eyes. They fall every which way gravity pulls them: down his face, out of the corners of his eyes into his hair, along the length of his nose. He bites at his lip and shakes his head.

  
The dweller twitches, concern deepening as he fears he may have just said something wrong. He quietly shushes Marion as he gathers him up into his arms. He snatches a few blankets as well, and he shuffles over to one of the corners of the room. Within moments he has them set up; Marion is in his lap, lying up against the dweller's chest, and he has the blankets draped over Marion's smaller figure.

Sobs continue to wrack through poor Marion, but the dweller does his best to calm him. He slips a hand up beneath Marion's night shirt, offering skin contact as he rubs soothing circles into his back (he knows Marion loves physical contact, that he _thrives_ off of it, but he still cannot help but breathe a sigh of relief when he feels the tiny human lean back into his touch). With his other hand he holds Marion closely to him. And throughout it all he continues speaking quietly in hushed tones, saying anything and everything he thinks will make Marion feel better; he suspects that right now Marion would just like to hear the sound of his voice. 

Eventually the sobs quell back down into silent tears. Marion fists some of the dweller's shirt into his hand, and he brushes a thumb over Marion's knuckles, wishing not for the first time that he was just a bit smaller so he could hold his hand properly.

"I'm sorry," Marion eventually says. "I'm sorry I - I tried not to wake you."

The dweller abhors the very thought. "No, don't be sorry." He leans down to press his lips against the top of Marion's head. "I'm glad I woke up."

There's a long moment of still silence, and then Marion nods in agreement. It's a relief, and the dweller holds Marion even tighter against him. "If I could," he whispers into Marion's hair, "I'd pull all those thoughts out of your head and throw 'em in the stream."

  
Marion huffs, and it almost sounds like a laugh. "Then all the fish would have to suffer."

"Better the fish than you." The dweller smiles. "Ya know, the elders always told me that if you had worries that you could tell 'em to the walls."

Marion shifts in his grip and the dweller pulls back to see Marion staring up at him. "The walls?"

The dweller hums in agreement and thumbs at Marion face. Now that the tears have slowed, he makes some progress with drying his face. "See, there were always cracks in the walls down there. You must've seen 'em - anyway, the elders always said that if you found a crack in a wall you could whisper your fears to them and they'd keep it for ya so you didn't have to worry about 'em."

Marion smiles a small smile. "That's a nice thought." His voice isn't quite back to normal yet. The dweller sympathetically brushes a few fingers over his throat. "Not too many cracks around here though."

"No," the dweller agrees, and then he lowers his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "But something tells me that the trees would be just as happy to bear your burdens. And you'll always have me. Till forever - or at least till ya don't want me 'round any more."

"Oh, forever will come first I can assure you." Marion wipes at his face with the back of his hand before pressing it against the dweller's cheek. "Thank you. Truly. You are a wonder, and you are wonderful. I see no harm in trying your advice... and if this happens again I'll come to you instead of hiding it. If that's acceptable...?"

"More than," the dweller said, trying and failing to fight off a blush. He leans his face into Marion's palm. "I'm always happy to help you." 


End file.
